‘I and my people have had no rest during the day or night, thanks to your Air Force. We have changed our quarters ever so often, trying to find a sage place for a little rest and sleep so that we could carry on the fight, but we have been unable to do that.’

Lt Gen AAK Niazi

Commander of the Pakistani Forces in East Pakistan

In December 1971 Bangladesh was born. Its birthing was painful: it had suffered a brutal genocide conducted by its former countrymen from West Pakistan, and a war between the indigenous Mukti Bahini (Liberation Army) and the Indian Armed Forces on one side, and the West Pakistani Armed Forces on the other. War broke out on the Western and eastern fronts in December 1971 and ended quickly; the Pakistan Army surrendered in Dacca two weeks later. A significant factor in facilitating the Indian Armyís progress to Dacca was the Indian Air Force (IAF) which neutralized the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and provided deadly, timely and accurate firepower to support in Indian Army.

Eagles over Bangladesh: The Indian Air Force in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, which covered IAFís operations in eastern sector, provides a day-by-day recounting of the IAFís activities, commencing with raids on Dacca on the first day of the war, and moving on to the final coup de grace delivered on the Governorís House. This account of the 1971 air war, enriched by first-person descriptions from IAF pilots, will appeal not only to strategic experts, military planners and aviation enthusiasts, but also to the lay reader.

This book narrates the story of the Indian Air Force in the operations over the Eastern Sector. Drawing on interviews with Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani veterans, it tells the story of the air war as never before with exclusive photographs and previously unpublished research.

This Edition only for Sale in Indian Subcontinent.

Interested in purchasing this in the USA? Buy this from Bharat Rakshak